Swastikas Spray-Painted in Brooklyn's Borough Park Neighborhood

At the New York Post, "Swastikas, hate graffiti found on B'klyn synagogue, stores."

There's also an interview with New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind, here.

And Pamela adds, "In Obama's America, Jew-hatred is becoming more and more widespread." (Via Memeorandum.)

Progressive Heads Explode After Rigorous Scientific Research Reports Better Outcomes for Kids in Traditional Biological Family Structures

You gotta love it, at Heritage, "Why the Liberal Intolerance for New Family Structures Study?" (Via Memeorandum.)

And check the research summary here, "New Family Structures Research and the “No Differences” Claim."

Progressives are working overtime to destroy and discredit the author of the new research, Mark Regnerus. See Molly Redden at TNR, for example, "It's Time for Mark Regnerus to Get Collectively Dumped."

The left wants to "Spitzerize" Regnerus. Recall the report from a couple of weeks ago at the New York Times, "Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, Noted Psychiatrist, Apologizes For Study On Gay 'Cure'." His research was met with "tremendous anger" by the radical gay community, and Spitzer reportedly spent many nights sleepless at the backlash.

Well, that's what you get for going against the left's orthodoxy, I guess.

BONUS: Linkmaster Smith comments:

I’m all for creativity (as this blog may in fact bear out, for regular readers). Invariants like the building blocks of society, e.g. families, may not be the best place to get all wildly experimental.

Careful there, Linkmaster. You may have to recant if you announce those views too energetically.

Mitch McConnell: The Political Left Seeks to Undermine Free Speech

This is an amazing speech.

Breitbart interviewed Sen. McConnell on Friday, "EXCLUSIVE: McConnell: 'Radical, Dangerous' Obama Admin Seeks to 'Shut Up' Opponents." (At Memeorandum.)

More here. And the full speech is at the link.

And see Patterico, "Mitch McConnell: “There’s somebody I’ve heard about named Brett Kimberlin”."

More from Alana Goodman, "McConnell Vows to Defend Citizens United." And at the American Enterprise blog, "Growing threats to our First Amendment rights: An address by Mitch McConnell":

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell delivered a harrowing address on Friday at AEI, detailing both the singular importance of free speech and the forces that seek to stymie it.

Chiefly among Senator McConnell’s concerns are moves proposed by the Obama administration that bully dissidents and effectively stifle their political rights. With legislation such as the DISCLOSE Act, McConnell asserted, the Obama administration and its allies in Congress impinge upon the rights of American citizens.

America was built on the sanctity of political freedom and in the words of Senator McConnell, “The bulwark of this freedom is, of course, the First Amendment.”

This is exactly what I've been talking about.

Gisele Bündchen is Highest Paid Model in the World

At Forbes, "The World's Highest Paid Models."

And at London's Daily Mail, "Kate Moss, Miranda Kerr and Lara Stone rank among world's best-paid models... but Gisele outstrips them all with $45m fortune."

Sarah Palin at Right Online - #RO12

The Right Scoop has the full clip: "Full Speech: Sarah Palin at Right Online 2012."

And see the Los Angeles Times, "Sarah Palin gives a pep talk to conservative bloggers at the Right Online conference":

LAS VEGAS -- It was a rousing pep talk for a ballroom full of conservative bloggers, and a tribute to a fallen compadre Friday evening, as Sarah Palin honored the memory of the late Internet entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart and told an annual gathering of conservative new media that they fill a vital role in the nation’s political discourse.

In some ways, Palin’s 35-minute speech was also a vintage performance, her sing-song voice rising and falling as she also castigated and mocked the “lamestream media,” accusing it of failing to vet then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008 and of promulgating rumors about her personal life, which still seem to get under her skin.

“You do what the old media can’t or won’t do, and that’s tell the truth,” said Palin, who remains a hero of the tea-party right despite her withdrawal from the arena of electoral office. “I have learned in the last four years or so, it doesn’t do any good to personally complain about the untruths told by the old media. I might as well save my breath…. Shoot, by now I should have been divorced how many times?  Under FBI investigation. Living in the Hamptons. It still is a great mystery who really is Trig Paxon Van Palin’s real mother.”

RTWT.

And follow all the action on Twitter.

Nik Wallenda Walks Over Niagara Falls

At the Los Angeles Times, "Nik Wallenda completes historic tightrope walk over Niagara Falls."

There's also a home taping here, and ABC's Nightline has a segment here.

Five-Year-Old Aelita Andre Holds Art Exhibit in New York

She's a prodigy.

See Telegraph UK, "Five-year-old girl unveils new art exhibition in New York."

New York 5th Grader Kameron Slade Now Allowed to Give Speech on Homosexual Marriage

Here's the report from last night, "NY1 Exclusive: School Prohibits Fifth-Grader From Giving Speech On Same-Sex Marriage."

And here's the update at DNAinfo, "Fifth Grader Allowed to Give Same-Sex Marriage Speech, Walcott says." Also at New York Post, "Walcott: student has right to read gay nups essay but not everyone has to hear it."

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said a Queens fifth-grader barred from reading his essay on gay marriage in front of the entire school “has the right” to present it — but not everyone has to hear it.

Walcott refused to say whether he supports PS 195 principal Berryl Bailey’s controversial decision to bar 10-year-old Kameron Slade from giving a speech on the issue yesterday.

Only after media inquiries did the Department of Education say that Slade could read his essay in a makeshift assembly scheduled for Monday — but that parents could opt their kids out.

“It’s something that the principal felt that she needed to do more due diligence with her parent community because of the topic of the speech itself,” said Walcott. “This extra day will give her the ability to reach out to those parents to make them aware of the content of the speech — because we’re talking about an elementary school.”

And if you ever doubted that progressives couldn't give a shit about the welfare of children or the rights of parents to raise their kids as they see fit, check the commentary at The New Civil Rights Movement:

Public schools, like all institutions of learning, are supposed to teach facts and relevant topics. Same-sex marriage is not pornography. Same-sex marriage has been in the news in New York for the past few years, especially leading up to its legalization one year ago. Parents should take an interest in their children’s learning, and support the schools’ efforts to teach. Schools need to recognize that for students to learn about equality, they have to start teaching it.

Since when do parents get to decide what public school curriculums teach? If a majority of parents decide they want creationism to be taught instead of evolution, will that become part of a school’s curriculum? What about climate change? Or, the latest David Barton lies? Where does it end?

Public schools are funded by the "parents," so obviously the "parents" have a right to help decide what will be taught in those schools. And obviously, teaching about homosexuality --- or homosexual marriage --- isn't a question of "equality." Current laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and same-sex marriage is not a civil right. But the radical homosexual lobby is all about demonizing people who hold traditional values, so they'll viciously attack folks who might just be a little bit concerned that their 11 year-old kids might not be ready for such a sophisticated, confusing, and political-charged topic as this. But again, the radical gay from couldn't give a flying f-k. They just don't.

See more commentary at Memeorandum.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Slams Obama's Backdoor Amnesty as 'Blatant Political Pandering'

At Newsmax, "Brewer Blasts Obama's Surprise 'Backdoor Amnesty' Move."

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Rep. Allen West Slams Obama's 'Rule of Edict or Executive Order'."
* "Progressives Go Batsh*t Crazy Over Neil Munro's Interruption: 'Destroying the Basic Decency of Our Democracy...'"
* "Angry Obama Lashes Out at Press Conference: 'I Didn't Ask for An Argument'."
* "Reporter Neil Munro Interrupts Obama During Immigration Speech (VIDEO)."
* "The Left's Democrat-Media-Complex Breaks Out With Huge Open Borders Push."

Rep. Allen West Slams Obama's 'Rule of Edict or Executive Order'

Once again, Congressman West hits a home run:

I think right now, this shows that we are getting away from a government that’s based upon consent of the American people, and we’re starting to live under a rule by edict or executive order...

REACTIONS at Memeorandum.

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Progressives Go Batsh*t Crazy Over Neil Munro's Interruption: 'Destroying the Basic Decency of Our Democracy...'"
* "Angry Obama Lashes Out at Press Conference: 'I Didn't Ask for An Argument'."
* "Reporter Neil Munro Interrupts Obama During Immigration Speech (VIDEO)."
* "The Left's Democrat-Media-Complex Breaks Out With Huge Open Borders Push."

Progressives Go Batsh*t Crazy Over Neil Munro's Interruption: 'Destroying the Basic Decency of Our Democracy...'

The Daily Caller released a statement defending reporter Neil Munro.

And here's progressive commentator Sally Kohn's response on Twitter:

So his job is destroying the basic decency of our democracy?RT @DailyCaller: We are very proud of, @NeilMunroDC for doing his job
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) June 15, 2012

It's going to be a long night.

Here's shrieking left-wing harpy Joan Walsh at Salon, "Frat-boy conservatism in the Rose Garden."

And just one of many race cards being played, but Touré (remember him?), at Newsbusters, "MSNBC’s Touré: Obama Being Interrupted 'Cannot Be Disconnected From the Fact That He’s Black'."

I'll post that one later when it's up on YouTube, plus whatever else I find. What a day!

PREVIOUSLY:

* "Angry Obama Lashes Out at Press Conference: 'I Didn't Ask for An Argument'."
* "Reporter Neil Munro Interrupts Obama During Immigration Speech (VIDEO)."
* "The Left's Democrat-Media-Complex Breaks Out With Huge Open Borders Push."

Angry Obama Lashes Out at Press Conference: 'I Didn't Ask for An Argument'

This is a huge story now at Memeorandum.

Glenn Reynolds rounds it up: "THE SUDDENLY-LESS-DEFERENTIAL PRESS: Daily Caller’s Neil Munro interrupts President Obama..."

And see Ed Driscoll: "ZOMG! Reporter Asks Dear Leader a Question!"

This last part of the talk with O lashing out at Neil Munro is something else:

More at Twitchy, "POTUS Interruptus: Pearl-clutching over reporter who interrupted Obama, MSNBC calls it racist."

And from Nice Deb, "Video: Obama Runs Back Into White House After Refusing to Take Questions After Amnesty Speech."

And back over at Memeorandum, it's immigration all the way down.

PREVIOUSLY: "Reporter Neil Munro Interrupts Obama During Immigration Speech (VIDEO)."

Reporter Neil Munro Interrupts Obama During Immigration Speech (VIDEO)

Here's the video:

The Guardian lived blogged: "Obama to end deportation for young undocumented migrants – politics live."

And at Twitchy, "Daily Caller’s Neil Munro interrupts President Obama; ‘is this right thing to do for American workers’."

The Left's Democrat-Media-Complex Breaks Out With Huge Open Borders Push

At CNN a little while ago, Fredricka Whitfield spoke with illegal immigrant and open borders activist Jose Antonio Vargas (video here). It turns out Vargas' story is the center-piece of this week's cover story at Time Magazine, "We Are Americans - Not Legal Not Leaving." Good timing, eh?

UPDATE: Shortly after Jose Antonio Vargas' story on the issue of the undocumented was published in TIME, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it would no longer deport young undocumented residents who qualify for the DREAM act. Those eligible will receive work permits.

And Vargas has an introductory piece, "Inside the World of the ‘Illegal’ Immigrant":

A year ago this month, I wrote an essay for the New York Times “coming out” about my status as an undocumented immigrant — what many people call an “illegal.” I told of my journey of being sent from the Philippines to the U.S. at age 12 without knowing I didn’t have the right papers; graduating from college and working as a successful journalist; and relying on a support network of American citizens (my high school principal and superintendent among them) to get me through. But mine is just one story. So with the help of friends and supporters, I founded a campaign called Define American, to document the lives of the undocumented and harness the support of our allies around this very controversial and misunderstood issue.

There are an estimated 11.5 million people like me in this country, human beings with stories as varied as that of the U.S. itself yet who lack a legal claim to exist here. It’s an issue that touches people of all ethnicities and backgrounds: Latinos and Asians, blacks and whites. (And yes, undocumented immigrants come from all sorts of countries, like Israel, Nigeria and Germany.) It’s an issue that goes beyond election-year politics and transcends the limitations of our broken immigration system and the policies being written to address them.

Check the link for the rest of the article, and the links to Vargas' NYT commentary and his website.

The immigration system isn't "broken." The left refuses to enforce it. And now with the White House's announcement, the Obama administration is turning election 2010 into a referendum on the president's open borders policy --- and a bid to mobilize the Democrat Party's Latino voting demographic.

More throughout the day on this.

Michelle Malkin has a big report on developments: "Occupy Open Borders: Obama delivers 800,000 more illegal alien deportation waivers."

Graphic Abortion Photos Stir Outrage in China

Steven Ertelt has the report, "China Apologizes, Suspends Officials Over Forced Late-Term Abortion."

And from Independent UK, "Graphic abortion photos prompt outrage at China's one-child law: Shocking images highlight case of woman forced into termination at seven months":

China insists the family planning policy is necessary because the country does not have the resources to deal with a population growing out of control. China is the world's most populous country, with a population of 1.3 billion. The government estimates that more than 400 million births have been prevented by the policy.

The policy is widely despised, and there is pressure to reverse it as China's population is ageing swiftly, prompting fears that there may not be enough young workers to sustain economic growth at current levels for much longer.

The penalty for breaking the rules on planned birth is the imposition of a fine and a loss of benefits such as free education and healthcare, but for many wealthy couples in China this is a price worth paying.

"This was very common in my hometown, even when the baby was close to term, women were forced to abort. Population control is fine, but what about those rich people who are allowed to have eight children," wrote one web commentator from Nanning, referring to a case in December last year when a wealthy couple in Guangdong had eight babies, including several born illegally to surrogates. "In 100 years, or even in 50 years, you will see how ridiculous population control is," a commentator from Ningbo said.

And be sure to read the comment thread from the report at Raw Story, where enlightened progressives are all over the place in denial of the horror and defense of the policy, for example:

You do know that a fetus and newborn baby have no sensations of suffering or satisfaction. Can you imagine the pollution levels in China or the price of oil if there were another 500 million Chinese?

New Mitt Romney Ad: 'Looks like a One-Term Proposition'

Via Instapundit, who has a roundup of reactions to Obama's speech yesterday:

President Barack Obama Has Disappointed in His First Term

From Der Spiegel, "The President of Disappointments: How Obama Has Failed to Deliver":

Barack Obama entered the White House as a savior. But he hasn't delivered. The ideological chasms in the US are as deep as they have ever been, with Republicans blocking the president at every turn. Who is responsible for his failure?

The United States of America, where yet another mammoth presidential campaign is taking shape, makes up less than 5 percent of the world's population. Yet it consumes about 25 percent of the world's oil. It has close to $16 trillion (€12.8 trillion) in debt, its expenditures will exceed its revenues by $1.3 trillion in this fiscal year alone, and the war in Afghanistan is costing it $2 billion. Each week. Many in this country are demanding peace in Syria, even as Washington quietly fights a dirty drone war in Pakistan. Some 169 prisoners are still stewing in Guantanamo. In Washington, D.C., the divide between the two political camps is so deep that it resembles an abyss. Is the current president of the United States really named Barack Obama? Is the era of George W. Bush really over?

Obama's first term in office will end in just a few months time. The giant, many-faceted country, 27 times the size of Germany, needs a new plan -- a new project for the staggering global superpower. A president will be elected in November for 314 million citizens. A new president? Perhaps. It is conceivable that the first black president, Barack Obama, hailed as a savior when he came into office, will be replaced by the pale Mormon Mitt Romney, a Republican with somewhat dubious conservative credentials.

The office both men are vying for is the most difficult in the world. The US president's agenda is constantly jam packed with the weightiest and the most trivial of matters alike, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Sometimes major national projects and monumental global tasks are relegated to the periphery of that agenda, because domestic sports scandals or sexual improprieties capture the headlines, because lunatic pastors decide to burn Korans, or because new statistics are released showing that three-fourths of all Americans are overweight, more than 46 million live in poverty and gunshots kill more than 30,000 people a year, suicides included.

The fact that Kim Kardashian's marriage lasted only 72 days can have a longer-lasting impact on the news in America than any environmental policy initiative. High gasoline prices (in the US "high" means that a liter of gasoline costs the equivalent of €0.77, or less than half the price of gasoline in Germany) are so important to so many people that they could decide the election. The fact that 52 percent of Republicans in Mississippi believe that Obama is a Muslim, or that 46 percent of Americans believe that man was created precisely as is written in the Bible can make political debates extraordinarily tedious.

RTWT.

Obama has failed to unify the country, which is want the Der Speigel piece is hitting on. But the author is bemoaning the puported "excessive partisanship" of recent years, and while it's the GOP that's usually blamed, actually the truth shows otherwise. See Althouse: "'Barack Obama is the most partisan politician since Richard Nixon'."

ALSO AT Althouse: "About Cory Booker: 'He’s dead to us'."

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube, "Getting One’s Mind Right With Mayor Cory Booker."

Greece Still Wants Free Lunch

At the Wall Street Journal, "Greece Votes Again" (via Google):

Nobody said the second time would be the charm. Greece's political parties failed to form a government after last month's parliamentary elections, and neither Greek citizens nor their creditors have any appetite for another inconclusive result after Sunday's runoff vote. But no number of polls will spell political stability for Greece unless Athens can show the credible commitment to reform that the Greek establishment has dodged for decades.

Not that too much in the way of reform is on offer at ballot boxes this weekend. The question after Sunday will be whether either of the two main parties can deliver Greece from the clientelism and corruption that bloat its government and leave its private economy moribund—even if they manage to form a government that can serve out the year.

Ahead of the election, the center-right New Democracy party looks to be leading the Coalition of the Radical Left—Syriza in the Greek abbreviation. But once again no party is likely to claim an absolute majority. Syriza was the sleeper story of last month's elections, winning second place with 16.8% of the vote; the party took less than 5% three years ago.

Syriza's ascent has given officials in Brussels and Berlin more than a few sleepless nights. Alexis Tsipras, the party's fiery 37-year-old leader, vows that he'll tear up the EU-IMF bailout agreement but keep Greece within the euro zone. If he becomes Prime Minister, has said he'd nationalize Greek banks, halt privatizations, reverse pension and wage cuts, and scrap the current pledge to fire 150,000 government workers.

But equally worrisome is the centrist parties' collapse into irrelevance. New Democracy chief Antonis Samaras has made the right noises about tax freezes and structural reforms, but if his party wins first place on Sunday it would likely have to form a coalition with Pasok, the socialist party that won third place in May. A joint government with Pasok and one of the smaller parties would be encumbered by coalition politics and peopled by many of the same officials who swelled Greece's public debt and turned "Greek accounting" into an international punchline.

Any government that is formed after Sunday will have to move carefully or face swift collapse. Mr. Tsipras thinks Angela Merkel is bluffing when she says she'll cancel Greece's funding if Athens cancels the bailout terms. He says the German Chancellor and other EU leaders are too committed to keeping Greece in the euro zone not to make concessions....

We hope the Greeks sort it all out, and that the Acropolis doesn't get destroyed in the process. But at one level the politics is a sideshow to the central lesson of Greece's crisis. For decades, and especially once they joined the euro zone, Greeks borrowed to consume beyond their means, and in 2009 the bill came due.

On Sunday Greeks try again to decide on the means of repayment: Mr. Samaras is offering to swallow the austerity medicine but seems fated to under-deliver on the restructuring that needs to accompany it. Mr. Tsipras is promising a free lunch. A Syriza victory Sunday would suggest that millions of Greeks still believe in no-cost dining.

That this is where Greece has come should give EU policy makers pause. Spanish banks are being bailed out and a deeper transfer union looms, but Greece shows that there are limits to what rescue money can achieve when it is poured into a broken political system.

The larger question raised by the current state of Greek politics is whether more transfers and more fiscal union can make Greece and the rest of Europe more like Germany. Or will they make European politics more like Greece's?

RELATED: At the Australian, "Greek leftist Alexis Tsipras slams 'Merkel's Europe' as election looms."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Greece voters face tough choices at polls: The upcoming vote is seen as a referendum on Greece's Eurozone membership." And the New York Times, "Europe Braces for Greek Vote — and Maybe More."

Burma's Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Exhausted, Becomes Ill During Switzerland Press Conference

At the Australian, "Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi falls ill from exhaustion on Europe tour."

RELATED: At the Los Angeles Times, "Myanmar forces struggle to contain ethnic and religious violence," and the Wall Street Journal, "Myanmar Clashes Spur Web Use, Crackdown: Openness Poses Challenges for Military-Backed Government."

Oregon State Professor Nicholas Drapela Fired From Position as 'Senior Instructor' in the Department of Chemistry

My good friend Norman Gersman sent this along.

See Watts Up With That, "Climate skeptic instructor fired from Oregon State University."

And commentary at Hall of Record, "Oregon State University Fires Scientist For Being An Unbeliever."

RELATED: From a few days ago, at Volokh, "Peter Gleick’s Possible Involvement in Drafting Fake Heartland Document: Either Not Investigated or the Relevant Results Not Released."

See Steven Hayward earlier, at the Weekly Standard, "Why the Climate Skeptics Are Winning."

Remember, don't get cocky.

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne Mansion House Speech

I'm fascinated by the extremely dire language out of Britain.

Telegraph UK has the full text of Osborne's speech: "George Osborne's Mansion House speech: in full."

Germany's Response to the Euro Crisis

From Charlemagne, at the Economist, "Between two nightmares: Angela Merkel is drawing the wrong lessons from the chaos of German history":

A STAMP collection in Berlin’s German Historical Museum sums up what, to many Germans, is the price of economic recklessness. A Weimar-era postage stamp worth five pfennigs in 1920 doubled in price the following year, then jumped to ten marks in 1922. It cost 30 marks in January 1923, 1,000 marks in May and 800,000 marks in October. By the end of 1923, sending a letter took ten billion marks. Next to this “document of an insane era”, the museum shows how worthless banknotes were defaced by Nazis with caricatures of Jewish speculators. It was at the height of hyperinflation, explains the display, that Hitler staged his failed Munich beer-hall putsch.

The moral is clear: profligacy leads to economic chaos, political extremism and ultimately to catastrophe for all of Europe. For today’s Germans, prosperity and democratic order must be based on sound money. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is in tune with this domestic mood when she insists that the euro zone must embrace a culture of financial stability if it is to overcome its debt crisis.

But is she drawing the wrong lessons from history? It was not hyperinflation in the 1920s but depression and mass unemployment in the 1930s that propelled Hitler to power. Like the hapless Weimar chancellor, Heinrich Brüning, Mrs Merkel is accused by critics of hastening disaster by pushing austerity during a deep recession. But whereas the 1930s is seared in American memory, it is less clearly remembered in Germany. The reason, says Professor Carl-Ludwig Holtfrerich of the Free University of Berlin, is that Germany returned to full employment more quickly, thanks partly to Hitler’s own form of Keynesian stimulus: notably autobahn-building and rearmament.

The prospect of a 1930s-like breakdown now is perhaps most palpable in Greece. In the fifth year of recession, Greeks chose in May to vote in large numbers for the extreme left and right, punishing mainstream parties that supported the austerity and reforms which came as conditions of the country’s bail-out. Even in the best scenario, in which centrists return to power in this weekend’s second election, a “Grexit” might only be delayed. And once the idea takes hold that a euro member can be pushed out, nobody knows where it will stop.

Contagion from Greece has clearly spread to Spain, which this week was promised up to €100 billion ($125 billion) in euro-zone loans to prop up its crippled banks. If Spain is touched, Italy is sure to follow and France may not be so far behind. As one observer in Berlin puts it, Germany’s real fear is not that the euro zone unravels to the Alps, but that it collapses all the way up to the Rhine. That is an existential threat for Germany, not just economically but also politically; its post-war rehabilitation and prosperity is built on reconciliation with France and deeper European integration.

Continue reading.

The pressure's on for Germany to save the Euro, and for practical purposes, that means even greater integration in a banking union, more rescue funds for EU institutions, and continued emergency bailouts for the worst off economies at the periphery. I doubt Germany will be able to hold up the entire European project. But Merkel's Christian Democratic Party has been getting hammered domestically, so she might shift toward even greater intervention. That said, see Telegraph UK, "It’s a poker game, and Angela Merkel will win."

See also London's Daily Mail, "Angela Merkel rejects quick solution to eurozone crisis as Spain's borrowing costs soar past critical 7% 'bailout level' following savage credit rating downgrade."

Europe Borrowing Costs Skyrocket as Financial Crisis Spirals

The Washington Post has a dramatic headline, "Spain and Italy straining under borrowing costs, but Germany balks at key steps to ease crisis":

MILAN — A growing number of European countries are being squeezed by a financial vise just days before a Greek election that could escalate the region’s political and economic turmoil.

The rise of Italian and Spanish borrowing costs to alarming levels Thursday heaped pressure on leaders to prevent Europe’s debt crisis from engulfing its largest countries. No grand solution appears imminent.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposes solutions that many experts are pushing that would increase costs for Berlin.

Merkel has found herself isolated from the leaders of Spain, Italy and France, who want the 17 countries in the euro currency union to move quickly to bind their governments’ finances and debt.

Such action could take the form of jointly issued debt or European-wide guarantees on bank deposits. Either step would spread the risks that individual countries bear across the eurozone.

RTWT.

Plus, it looks like Britain is stepping to help the rescue effort. See the Guardian UK, "Debt crisis: emergency action revealed to tackle 'worst crisis since second world war'," and Telegraph UK, "Osborne unveils £140bn scheme to kick-start stagnant economy."

And from Alex Brummer, at London's Daily Mail, "Sir Mervyn's speech sent a shiver down the spine: In 40 years I've never heard such apocalyptic talk."

Scott Brown Hits Back Against Elizabeth Warren's J.P. Morgan Allegations: She's Failed the Test of 'Truthfulness and Credibility and Honesty'

The full video is at Fox News, "Big business blame game heats up Mass. Senate race."

And at National Journal, "Brown, Warren Scrap Over Native American Controversy":

In a fight to keep his Senate seat in Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown lashed out Thursday at Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren, saying she failed the test of “truthfulness and credibility and honesty” as evidenced by her past claims about her Native American heritage.

On Fox News, Brown responded to a statement Warren made about him being too cozy with Wall Street: “When you're running for elective office … you have to pass a test and the test is about truthfulness and credibility and honesty. And quite frankly she's failed that test as evidenced by her claiming to be a Native American and checking the box and making misrepresentations to not only Harvard but Penn.

He added: “She can rewrite her own history but she can’t rewrite mine.”

Warren has been dogged by claims about her Native American heritage. After initially claiming ignorance on the matter, Warren later admitted identifying herself as Native American while on the faculty at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. She said she did not use her Cherokee heritage to help get those jobs, but made the claims after she was hired. Her statements have come under criticism because she has thus far been unable to substantiate them.

Warren defended herself on Thursday, however, saying that by concentrating on the Native American controversy, Brown was trying to distract from the issues.

More at that top link.

And see Legal Insurrection for Elizabeth Brown's comments: "Elizabeth Warren: “I’m not backing off from my family” on Cherokee claim."

Obama, Romney Go Head to Head on Economy

At the New York Times,"Obama Says Election Will Shape the Economy for Years":

CLEVELAND — Framing his re-election bid as a stark choice between government action to lift the middle class and a return to Republican economic policies that he said had caused a deep recession, President Obama on Thursday called the presidential decision facing Americans a clear-cut one that will determine the long-term trajectory of the economy.

“This November is your chance to render a verdict on the debate over how to grow the economy, how to create good jobs, how to pay down our deficit,” Mr. Obama told enthusiastic supporters at Cuyahoga Community College here. “Your vote will finally determine the path that we take as a nation — not just tomorrow, but for years to come.”

The address, by a president who sounded as if he realized he was in a fight for his political life, represented a determined effort to stem two weeks of political and economic sliding that began with a grim jobs report. It came on a day of political gamesmanship in this crucial swing state, as Mitt Romney, the president’s rival, scheduled a speech 250 miles away in Republican-friendly Cincinnati in an effort to overshadow Mr. Obama and pre-emptively attack him for failing to revive the economy.

Speaking shortly before Mr. Obama in remarks that, like the president’s, were carried on cable news programs, Mr. Romney said Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign felt compelled to deliver a major address on the economy “because he hasn’t delivered a recovery for the economy.”

“Now, I know that he will have all sorts of excuses, and he’ll have all sorts of ideas he’ll describe about how he’ll make things better,” Mr. Romney said. “But what he says and what he does are not always the exact same thing. And so if people want to know how his economic policies have worked and how they perform, why they can talk to their neighbor and ask if things are better.”

In his remarks, the president acknowledged that divergent views between him and Mr. Romney on how to revive the economy would define the election.

“There is one place I stand in complete agreement with Mr. Romney,” Mr. Obama said. “This election is about our economic future.”

Also, "Romney Assails Obama for Favoring Words Over Action." (Via Memeorandum.)

Mitt Romney Goes Up With First Attack Ad: 'Doing Fine'

Ed Morrissey reports, "Romney goes on attack with new TV ad, “Doing Fine”."

And see Alana Goodman, "Romney’s Psych Out Ad."

Mitt Romney’s latest attack ad against President Obama (the first negative spot of the campaign, as Jim Geraghty points out) sends two messages. On the surface it’s a cut-and-dry ad criticizing Obama as out of touch on the economy, but there’s another message that seems aimed at psyching out the Obama campaign. See if you can catch it:

More at Memeorandum.

New Mitt Romney Video: 'Raising the Flag'

Celebrating Flag Day, "Our Flag."

Six Senate Republicans Oppose Obama's Iraq Ambassador Nominee Brett McGurk

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have issued a letter to the White House.

At the Christian Science Monitor, "Senate fight brews over Obama's Iraq ambassador pick":

Brett McGurk is drawing the ire of Senate Republicans, who point to an inappropriate relationship with his now-wife when she was a journalist.

PREVIOUSLY: "WSJ's Gina Chon Resigns Over Racy E-Mails: Reporter, Now Married to Iraq Ambassador-Nominee Brett McGurk, Violated Dow Jones Code of Conduct."

Who Is Elizabeth Warren? Sean Hannity Covers Massachusetts Senate Race

Let me recommend folks go over to the full Fox New video here.

Michelle Fields is easier to look at than the screen image of Elizabeth Warren at Fox's upload, ha!

And compare Hannity's segment to competition's: "MSNBC's Chris Matthews Interviews Elizabeth Warren: Completely Ignores 'Fauxcahontas' Scandal, Offers to Help 'Minority' Candidate Instead."

Michelle Malkin Slams GOP Support for ObamaCare's 'Slacker Mandate'

Michelle hammers GOP Senator Roy Blunt at the clip.

And here's her column from yesterday, "Republican Surrenderists for Obamacare":

During the summer of 2009, conservative activists turned up the heat on Democratic politicians to protest the innovation-destroying, liberty-usurping Obamacare mandate. In the summer of 2012, it’s squishy Republican politicians who deserve the grassroots flames.
In case you hadn’t heard, even if the Supreme Court overturns the progressives’ federal health care juggernaut, prominent GOP leaders vow to preserve its most “popular” provisions. These big-government Republicans show appalling indifference to the dire market disruptions and culture of dependency that Obamacare schemes have wrought.

GOP Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, vice chair of the Senate GOP Conference, told a St. Louis radio station two weeks ago that he supports keeping at least three Obamacare regulatory pillars: federally imposed coverage of “children” up to age 26 on their parents’ health insurance policies (the infamous, unfunded “slacker mandate”), federally mandated coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions (“guaranteed issue,” which turns the very concept of insurance on its head and leads to an adverse-selection death spiral) and closure of the coverage gap in the massive Bush-backed Medicare drug entitlement (the “donut hole fix” that will obliterate the program’s cost-controls).

Some Republicans are even trying to out-Obama Obamacare. GOP Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio is pushing a proposal to increase the mandatory coverage age for dependents to age 31. And once a fire-breathing dragon for repeal, GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee hem-hawed when asked by the liberal Talking Points Memo website whether Republicans would be introducing specific bills to preserve the guaranteed issue and slacker mandate provisions.

“Well, I think we need to be prepared,” Alexander told TPM. “And we will be prepared.”

RTWT.

Progressives Blame President Bush for 'Fast and Furious' Scandal

This is a literally unbelievable piece-of-junk report, at the Soros-backed Think Progress, "Five Things to Know About the Republican Witchhunt Against Attorney General Holder":

In 2006, during the presidency of George W. Bush, the Justice Department launched the first of a series of misguided “gunrunning” schemes that eventually led to the death of federal Agent Brian Terry. Rather than look to ways to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, however, House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) spent his tenure as a committee chair trying unsuccessfully to embarrass Attorney General Eric Holder.

Hardly. But read the whole thing for the rest of the lies.

Yesterday, Sandra Miller had this, at The Examiner, "The Fast and Furious Scandal":

Eric Holder in his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, has been evasive and has had several memory lapses. He states that he knew nothing of the gunrunning program, that he was not aware that guns were walking into Mexico during Fast Furious, that is until the reports became public in early 2011. Holder claims he knew nothing of the operation until almost three months after a Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry was killed by one of the 2,000 firearms that traveled across the Mexican border into the hands of drug cartels. He continues to insist that Fast and Furious was being handled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) employees with little to no direction by the Department of Justice.

One of the most compelling parts of Eric Holder's testimony was the inclusion of an exchange with Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) regarding an e-mail written by the Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein to James Trusty, chief of the Department of Justice's Organized Crime and Gang Section. In this testimony and in this e-mail the words “Fast and Furious” were used. Chaffetz says the e-mail says Fast and Furious, Mr. Holder says it does not. Mr. Chaffetz says I have it in black and white. Eric Holder insisted the term was referring to the Bush Administration operations and later said, “I have superior knowledge.”

Eric Holder has tried to implicate the Bush Administration in this scandal all along. This is what Holder said to the committee:

“Although these law enforcement operations, which include Wide Receiver, Medrano, Hernandez, Fast and Furious, and others, were focused on the goal of dismantling illegal gun trafficking networks, they were flawed in both concept and execution. I share your concerns about how these operations were developed and implemented. That's why, just as congressional leaders have called for answers, I have asked the Department's Inspector General to conduct a comprehensive investigation as well”.

However, there are two differences between the Bush and Obama administration and their operations. At least three of four operations conducted under the Bush Administration, Wide Receiver, Medrano and Hernandez, were conducted by co-operating with Mexican law enforcement authorities. There was no effort by the Obama administration to co-ordinate with Mexico on Fast and Furious.

The next difference is the most important. There were no casualties as a result of any Bush administration efforts. As the result of Fast and Furious, one US Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and possibly Jaime Zapata have been killed, along with hundreds of Mexican citizens. Eric Holder seems indifferent to this fact. The Department of Justice is also apparently attempting to stonewall an investigation into the people that are responsible for these operations that have lead to the murder of government officials. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) says the Department of Justice is “out of excuses.” Contempt is the only tool Congress has to enforce the subpoena, says Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

And from late last year, see Andrew McCarthy, at National Review, "Fast & Furious Was . . . Bush’s Fault."

And that's Katie Pavlich at the clip above. She literally wrote the book on Fast and Furious, and she calls out top Justice Department officials as liars.

And see Pavlich's essay from last night, "Issa to Holder: You Said You Want to Talk, Let's Talk." And she's interviewed by the National Rifle Association here.

What Do Libertarians Think About Gay Marriage?

Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie perfectly illustrate why I'm not libertarian on social issues. This is literally a knee-jerk discussion, and I doubt a longer libertarian treatment, perhaps in their new book, would be much better --- I haven't read it though, so this is all I've got. Still, this is pretty familiar terrain, and completely divorced from decency or moral consideration, IMHO:

For a recent argument against gay marriage, see "Conservatives Block Homosexual Marriage Law in Washington State."

This Time, Europe Really Is on the Brink

An essay from Niall Ferguson and Nouriel Roubini, at Der Spiegel, "The Perils of Ignoring History":

The European Union was created to avoid repeating the disasters of the 1930s, but Germany, of all countries, has failed to learn from history. As the euro crisis escalates, Berlin should remember how the banking crisis of 1931 contributed to the breakdown of democracy across Europe. Action is urgently needed to stop history from repeating itself.

Is it one minute to midnight in Europe?

The failure of German public opinion to grasp the dire state of affairs in Europe today is inviting a repeat of precisely the crisis of the mid 20th century that European integration was designed to avoid.
With every increase in the probability of a disorderly Greek exit from the monetary union, the pressure on the Spanish banks increases and with it the danger of a Mediterranean-wide bank run so big that it would overwhelm the European Central Bank. Already there has been a substantial re-nationalization of the European financial system. This centrifugal process could easily continue to the point of complete disintegration.

We find it extraordinary that it should be Germany, of all countries, that is failing to learn from history. Fixated on the non-threat of inflation, today's Germans appear to attach more importance to the year 1923 (the year of hyperinflation) than to the year 1933 (the year democracy died). They would do well to remember how a European banking crisis two years before 1933 contributed directly to the breakdown of democracy not just in their own country but right across the European continent.

Astonishingly few Europeans (including bankers) seem to remember what happened in May 1931 when Creditanstalt, the biggest Austrian bank, had to be bailed out by a government that was itself on the brink of insolvency. The ensuing European bank crisis, which saw the failure of two of Germany's biggest banks, ushered in the second half of the Great Depression. If the first half had been dominated by the American stock market crash, the second was all about European banks going bust.

Continue reading.

Niall Ferguson made the same basic argument at The Daily Beast the other day, and he extended it include fallout for President Obama's reelection chances.

That said, while Ferguson and Roubini are a little over the top, recall the the latter predicted the U.S. housing bust, so I don't discount these arguments too quickly.

Expect updates...

World Opinion of Barack Obama Declines, Drone Strikes Faulted

Glenn Reynolds frequently jokes as follows, "They told me if I voted for John McCain world public opinion would turn against the United States, and they were right!"

And so they were.

At Pew Research, "Global Opinion of Obama Slips, International Policies Faulted":

Global approval of President Barack Obama’s policies has declined significantly since he first took office, while overall confidence in him and attitudes toward the U.S. have slipped modestly as a consequence.

Europeans and Japanese remain largely confident in Obama, albeit somewhat less so than in 2009, while Muslim publics remain largely critical. A similar pattern characterizes overall ratings for the U.S. – in the EU and Japan, views are still positive, but the U.S. remains unpopular in nations such as Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, support for Obama has waned significantly in China. Since 2009, confidence in the American president has declined by 24 percentage points and approval of his policies has fallen 30 points. Mexicans have also soured on his policies, and many fewer express confidence in him today.

The Obama era has coincided with major changes in international perceptions of American power – especially U.S. economic power. The global financial crisis and the steady rise of China have led many to declare China the world’s economic leader, and this trend is especially strong among some of America’s major European allies. Today, solid majorities in Germany (62%), Britain (58%), France (57%) and Spain (57%) name China as the world’s top economic power.

Even though many think American economic clout is in relative decline, publics around the world continue to worry about how the U.S. uses its power – in particular its military power – in international affairs.

There remains a widespread perception that the U.S. acts unilaterally and does not consider the interests of other countries. In predominantly Muslim nations, American anti-terrorism efforts are still widely unpopular. And in nearly all countries, there is considerable opposition to a major component of the Obama administration’s anti-terrorism policy: drone strikes. In 17 of 20 countries, more than half disapprove of U.S. drone attacks targeting extremist leaders and groups in nations such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

RTWT.

#JustaBlogger

What a show tonight on Sean Hannity's. Michelle Malkin was slapping Juan Williams so hard that he threw up his hand and tried to diss Michelle as "just a blogger."

Jammie Wearing Fools reports, "Epic: Michelle Malkin Destroys Juan Williams After He Snidely Calls Her ‘Just a Blogger’."

And at Twitchy, "‘Real journalist’ Juan Williams pwned by ‘just a blogger’ Michelle Malkin."

Michelle's tweeting up a firestorm, and she links to her post from 2009: "Who says conservative bloggers don’t do reporting?"

No Memeorandum thread yet, but it's still early.

MSNBC's Chris Matthews Interviews Elizabeth Warren: Completely Ignores 'Fauxcahontas' Scandal, Offers to Help 'Minority' Candidate Instead

It's not like Matthews is in the tank, or anything.

This is the full interview, but at 3:45 minutes Matthews exclaims, "Let me help you on this. I, as a journalist, can help you...":

RELATED: From Anne Sorock at Legal Insurrection, "Should Elizabeth Warren be in “cultural appropriation” exhibit at Brown Univ. museum?" And here's William at LI, "Were charges of “scientific misconduct” against Elizabeth Warren ever fully vetted?", and "Native American Harvard alumna and lifelong Dem accuses Elizabeth Warren of “ethnic fraud”."

BONUS: At Big Government, "The Academic Scandal Elizabeth Warren and Harvard Don't Want You to Know About."

Chris Matthews doesn't want us to know about it either --- he doesn't want folks to know anything about Elizabeth Warren. Man, what a waste of cable air time. That is definitely not journalism. I'm shaking my head in disgust as I write this.

Linked by An Ex-Con's View. Thanks!

Reuters/Ipsos Poll: Obama Approval Numbers Drop to Lowest Since January, Biggest Dip Among Independent Voters

Here's the report, at Reuters, "Obama's ratings sink on economic doubts."

At the clip, Krauthammer debunks the president's earlier comments, at RCP, "Obama: Republicans Left Me With the Check For a Steak Dinner."

Nigel Farage: 'By Any Objective Criteria the Euro Has Failed'

The Euro Titanic has hit the iceberg.

Via Theo Spark:

RELATED: At Zero Hedge, "Biderman & Santschi On 'Why Germany Should Leave the Euro."

PREVIOUSLY: "Borrowing Costs Surge for Italy and Spain, Deepening Europe's Financial Crisis."

'You're Not Special' — David McCullough Jr. Defends Graduation Speech

The Los Angeles Times actually agrees with David McCullough, Jr., and slams the "self esteem movement." See: "David McCullough Jr.'s speech takes on the self-esteem movement."

And see London's Daily Mail, "Teacher who told students they WEREN'T special in graduation speech defends himself as he says he 'wanted to tell them something useful'."

The full video is here.

Borrowing Costs Surge for Italy and Spain, Deepening Europe's Financial Crisis

There's lots of news on this.

At the New York Times, "Prime Ministers of Spain and Italy Call on European Leaders for Help."

And see Der Spiegel, "Euro Crisis Deepens: Italy Struggles to Break Out of Downward Spiral":

After Spain, the focus of the euro crisis has now shifted to Italy, which is struggling with a shrinking economy and rising bond yields. Prime Minister Mario Monti has denied that his country will ask for an EU bailout, but optimism about Italy's future is in short supply.

Claudio Pesaro actually had big plans for this year. The 35-year-old Italian, who still lives at home, wanted to buy his own place, marry his girlfriend and have children. But even though he has saved more than a third of the purchase price for a property, he can't find a bank that is willing to lend him the rest. His job is also at risk, as his company is making losses. As a result, he will have to put his plans on ice for now.

Marco Michelli wanted to go into business for himself, starting a microbrewery complete with pub. Beer is popular in Italy, especially among the young. But the municipal authorities hampered him with conditions and fees, and the bank withdrew its commitment to fund his business. That was the end of his project.
These are just two typical stories from Italy, which is currently in the fourth year of its crisis. The mood in the country is depressed. The number of people committing suicide for economic reasons is increasing. The enthusiasm with which Italy greeted the introduction of the euro has long vanished. Now, around 65 percent of the population are skeptical of the common currency.

Hence, Italians were relatively tranquil in their reactions to the latest "Black Monday" on the stock markets, when stocks fell sharply following the announcement that the Italian economy had contracted by 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2012. They have come to expect such plunges. The focus of the euro crisis is, after Spain, shifting again to Italy. Italian share prices have plummeted, and yields on Italian government bonds jumped back over the dangerously high 6 percent mark. Stock markets insiders report that hedge funds are investing large sums of money in bets against the country, on the assumption that yields will continue to rise -- and are thereby fueling the downward spiral.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has denied that his country will ask for an EU-led bailout. He told the German broadcaster Deutschlandradio Kultur on Wednesday that he realized Italy had a reputation as a "cheerful and undisciplined" country, but that it was "more disciplined" than many other European countries -- adding that it was "also not so cheerful."

RTWT.

More at Business Week, "After Spain, Is Italy the Next Domino to Fall?"

Check back for updates.

New Erin Andrews Bikini Pics!

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted on Erin Andrews.

So with that, you're welcome.

At London's Daily Mail, "Red hot! Erin Andrews' ample cleavage defies gravity in a strapless bikini during beach outing."

Also at Bleacher Report, "Erin Andrews Bikini Pics Start Rumor Mill at TMZ."

New Research: Children DO NOT Do Better in Same-Sex Parent Families

It turns out that the most authoritative previous study, widely cited by the left, used unrepresentative samples, and was thus unscientific.

See the Heritage Foundation, "New Research on Children of Same-Sex Parents Suggests Differences Matter":

Two peer-reviewed articles published Sunday in a scholarly journal cast doubt on a core assumption used to advance same-sex marriage.
A number of studies and articles have suggested that research shows no difference in outcomes between children whose parents have same-sex relationships and their peers raised by heterosexual parents. For example, the American Psychological Association (APA) stated in 2005 that “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.”

Yesterday the academic journal Social Science Research published a detailed methodological review of the research on which the APA bases its conclusion—a study that questions the validity of the “no difference” assertion. Conducted by a Louisiana State University family scholar, the article concludes:

[N]ot one of the 59 studies referenced in the 2005 APA Brief compares a large, random, representative sample of lesbian or gay parents and their children with a large, random, representative sample of married parents and their children. The available data, which are drawn primarily from small convenience samples, are insufficient to support a strong generalizable claim either way. Such a statement would not be grounded in science. To make a generalizable claim, representative, large-sample studies are needed—many of them.

Continue reading.

Ezra Levant on Abolishing Canada's Section 13 Human Rights Commission

A follow up to my previous entry: "Tories Set to Repeal Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act."

This is amazing:

Also at Maclean's, "The Internet hates Section 13."

Victory for Pamela Geller! California's Alameda County Yanks 'Palestinian Cultural Day' Proclamation, Heads Explode at 'Mondoweiss'

Mondoweiss is truly one of the most repulsive progressive blogs on the web --- and that's saying a lot considering the left's deep bench of hatred and racism.

See Atlas Shrugs, "Jewicidal Heads Explode Over 'Palestinian' Proclamation Day Cancellation":

Mondoweiss is a leftist "anti-Zionist" blog founded by Jewicidal kapo Philip Weiss of the self-loathing tribe. Two of its "principal aims" are to "foster the movement for greater fairness and justice for Palestinians in American foreign policy" and "to offer alternatives to pro-Zionist ideology as a basis for American Jewish identity" -- in other words, to conspire with the Left and the "Palestinian" jihadis to destroy Israel. And so it is a badge of honor to be demonized by these Useful Idiots, who are enraged over the recent AFDI/SIOA victory for freedom over "Palestinian" Propaganda Proclamation Day. They are now calling it (sough cough) Palestinian Cultural day (talk about your oxymorons.)

These liberal Jews would rather chew off their own leg than see our people stand on their own two legs.

How the Euro Will End

From Gerald O'Driscoll, at the Wall Street Journal:

The euro is the world's first currency invented out of whole cloth. It is a currency without a country. The European Union is not a federal state, like the United States, but an agglomeration of sovereign states. European countries are plagued by rigidities, including those in labor markets—where language differences and the protection of trades and professions in many countries impede labor mobility. That makes it difficult for their economies to adjust to cyclical and structural economic shifts.

For such reasons, when the euro was created in 1999, Milton Friedman famously predicted its demise within a decade. He was wrong about the timing, but he may yet be proven right about the fact.

Greece is the epicenter of a currency and fiscal crisis in the euro zone. Markets fear a "Grexit," or Greek exit from the euro. That exit is almost a foregone conclusion. The endgame for the euro will be played out in Spain.

Read it all at the link.

Actually, Germany, and the rest of the Eurozone countries too, will work overtime to make sure the Euro survives. The fate of the European project depends on it. I'm personally skeptical about the long-term prospects of the single European currency as long as economic dislocation continues, and I think that it will. And ultimately, I doubt Germany will have the domestic political support to continue propping up the entire union. Time will tell. I expect Spain could get another bailout or two before long. And don't forget that eyes have turned to Italy as the hot spot on the horizon.

Expect updates. This is one of the most significant developments in international politics since the end of the Cold War.

Buena Park Police Hit and Run Video

We're seeing more of these brazen hit-and-run attacks.

See the Los Angeles Times, "Hit-and-run caught on tape; Buena Park police looking for driver":

PREVIOUSLY: "Police Release Astonishing Hit-and-Run Videotape — Teenager Survives After Being Thrown Through the Air, Flipping Head-Over-Heels."

TX2K12 Bikini Contest at Frank 'N Steins Grill

I missed this earlier, but this is some beautiful bikini action!

The background is here: "TX2K12 Night Meet & Bikini Contest Hosted by HPD! Friday March 16th, 2012."

Conservatives on Twitter: A Beautiful Thing to Watch

This is an awesome essay, from John Nolte at Big Journalism, "Why Conservatives Must Join the Battle for America On Twitter."

RELATED: William Jacobson is a huge champion of Twitter, and he's got a must-see post up on #TwitterGulag: "Emergency Broadcast System activated – #FreeSGLawrence."

Sign up for Twitter here. If you're already a member, get tweeting!

'Escape From Alcatraz'

A great piece, at the Los Angeles Times, "50 years later, Alcatraz escapees' tale still captivates":

SAN FRANCISCO — There was the leather pouch, crafted in prison, that according to family lore may have contained a message about the escapees' hide-out.

There were the flowers, which arrived reliably on special occasions at their childhood home — with no card attached.

And when Clarence and John Anglin's mother died in 1978, two men masquerading as women were said to have attended her Florida funeral, despite a swarm of FBI agents nearby.

Fifty years after the Anglins joined Frank Lee Morris and slipped away from Alcatraz — the wind-battered federal penitentiary in San Francisco Bay — on a raft made of raincoats, tantalizing new morsels trickled out Monday to deepen the enduring mystery of their escape.

Many historians and law enforcement officials assume the men drowned in the bay's frigid waters. But since no bodies were found, the U.S. Marshals Service still searches for the fugitives, who today would be 81, 82 and 85.

The 1962 escape has become one of the best known unsolved crimes in American history. And in a decrepit upper hall of the island prison-turned-tourist attraction, an unlikely mix of characters gathered Monday to share what they know — and speculate about what they don't.

Among them was supervising U.S. Deputy Marshal Michael Dyke, who has worked the case since 2003 and still gets a tip every couple of months. A towering man with the deadpan expression of a seasoned investigator, Dyke said it was entirely possible that one or more of the escapees survived.

He has vowed to keep looking until the men "are apprehended, proven to be dead or self-surrender." (If none of those scenarios plays out by the time of each escapee's 99th birthday, the outstanding warrants will be retired.)

The FBI worked the case until 1978, when the Marshals Service took over. These days, Dyke said, he pursues it more "as a hobby" than a full-time endeavor. His supervisory role gives him plenty of other things to do. Still, his goal is arrest — although he admitted he would season their apprehension with a touch of flattery.

"I would just say, 'Excellent job,'" Dyke said during a panel discussion held to discuss the caper memorialized by Clint Eastwood in "Escape from Alcatraz."

"It was very meticulous what they did."

Joining Dyke were two of the Anglins' sisters and two nephews, who traveled all the way from Florida and Georgia in an attempt to humanize the brothers they called "good ol' boys" who "never hurt anybody."

Now 76 and 74, the sisters on Monday donned matching black turtlenecks under white blouses that were decorated to commemorate the escape — and the artistry of the fake heads the men used as decoys to fool guards doing bed-checks.

They brought with them the letters Clarence and John had sent from behind bars, as well as photos of the intricate paintings the brothers crafted of their girlfriends while serving their time on "The Rock."

"We've always rooted for 'em," Marie Anglin Widner said, in courteous defiance of Dyke.

Added her son, David Widner: "We don't condone anything that they did, but they were still human.... They wanted a different life than what they had, and that got 'em in a lot of trouble.

RTWT.

Wikipedia's page is here.

And at the New York Times, "Tale of 3 Inmates Who Vanished From Alcatraz Maintains Intrigue 50 Years Later."

Is Bar Refaeli, 'Maxim's Hottest', Dating Skate and Snowboard Champion Shaun White?

London's Daily Mail want to know, "Is Bar Refaeli dating Shaun White? Maxim's Hottest Woman In The World spotted 'kissing' Olympic Gold Medalist."

But here's this, at New York Post, "Shaun White raises the Bar":

Bar Refaeli had complained she “doesn’t get hit on by guys,” but Olympic gold medalist Shaun White gave it a shot over Memorial Day weekend.

The snowboarding champ was spotted with Maxim’s newly crowned “hottest woman in the world” at SoHo lounge Sway “dancing, hugging and kissing” into the wee hours of Monday morning, spies tell Page Six.

White was first seen entering the Spring Street club with five pals after midnight Monday, but sources say he was mostly concerned with monitoring his cellphone.

“He was distracted,” a witness said. “He was pacing, going outside and checking his cell.”

It soon became clear why, when stunning model Refaeli arrived to meet White at about 1:30 a.m.

The half-pipe hero and the Israeli ex of Leonardo DiCaprio promptly hit the dance floor, where they were going for the gold in the canoodle-a-thon. “They were all over each other,” our spy said. “They were dancing, hugging, kissing — you name it.”

Refaeli was seen leaving Sway at “around 3 a.m.,” and White gallantly walked her out and let her take his car home.

Actually, skaters always do well with the chicks, so I'm not surprised.

Recall I took my boys to X-Games last summer, and Shaun White won the vertical contest: "Home From X-Games — VIDEO ADDED!"

U.S. Accuses Russia of Sending Attack Helicopters to Syria

At the New York Times, "Influx of Heavy Arms Pushes Syria Toward Civil War":

WASHINGTON — With evidence that powerful new weapons are flowing to both the Syrian government and opposition fighters, the bloody uprising in Syria has thrust the Obama administration into an increasingly difficult position as the conflict shows signs of mutating into a full-fledged civil war.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Tuesday that the United States believed that Russia was shipping attack helicopters to Syria that President Bashar al-Assad could use to escalate his government’s deadly crackdown on civilians and the militias battling his rule. Her comments reflected rising frustration with Russia, which has continued to supply weapons to its major Middle Eastern ally despite an international outcry over the government’s brutal crackdown.

“We have confronted the Russians about stopping their continued arms shipments to Syria,” Mrs. Clinton said at an appearance with President Shimon Peres of Israel. “They have, from time to time, said that we shouldn’t worry; everything they’re shipping is unrelated to their actions internally. That’s patently untrue.”

Russia insists that it provides Damascus only with weapons that can be used in self-defense.

As fighting intensified across Syria, there were reports that government forces were using helicopters to fire on a rebel-held enclave in the northwestern part of the country. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, reported that more than 60 people had been killed in the fighting, one-third of them government soldiers, while the United Nations released a report saying that Syrians as young as 8 had been deployed by government soldiers and pro-government militia members as human shields.

The fierce government assaults from the air are partly a response to improved tactics and weaponry among the opposition forces, which have recently received more powerful antitank missiles from Turkey, with the financial support of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, according to members of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group in exile, and other activists.

The United States, these activists said, was consulted about these weapons transfers. Officials in Washington said the United States did not take part in arms shipments to the rebels, though they recognized that Syria’s neighbors would do so, and that it was important to ensure that weapons did not end up in the hands of Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups.

The question now is what are we going to do about it? We shouldn't discount the arms transfers if the administration considers Syria a key national interest. I think it's a humanitarian interest and I'd authorized the use of force on that basis alone. Keeping Russian influence out would be an added benefit of U.S.-backed regime change in Damascus.

See also Telegraph UK, "Syria: US accuses Russia of sending attack helicopters."

BONUS: From Max Boot at Commentary, "Striking a Blow Against Syria."

GOP Sen. John Cornyn Calls for Attorney General Eric Holder's Resignation

At Fox News, "Senator calls for Holder's resignation amid challenges over leak probe, Fast and Furious" (via Memeorandum).

Watch it:

And see Ericka Johnson at Hot Air, "Cornyn to Holder: “It is my sincere hope President Obama replaces you”."

WSJ's Gina Chon Resigns Over Racy E-Mails: Reporter, Now Married to Iraq Ambassador-Nominee Brett McGurk, Violated Dow Jones Code of Conduct

Man, these are pretty racy.

Turns out Ms. Chon and Mr. McGurk, in one exchange, joked about having "blue balls" the previous night.

See Howard Kurtz, at The Daily Beast, "Journal Reporter Resigns Over Affair":

Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon resigned on Tuesday over her relationship with a U.S. official who is now President Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to Iraq.

The Journal said in a statement that Chon had acknowledged that “she violated the Dow Jones code of conduct by sharing certain unpublished articles” with Brett McGurk, then a member of the National Security Council based in Iraq. The two are now married.

In 2008, the paper said, “Ms. Chon entered into a personal relationship with Mr. McGurk, which she failed to disclose to her editor. At this time the Journal has found no evidence that her coverage was tainted by her relationship with Mr. McGurk.”

Chon asked for and received a leave of absence, which was made public last week. A series of romantic e-mails had surfaced from that time period, which included not just flirting but discussions of McGurk’s negotiations with the Iraqis.

Also at London's Daily Mail, "Wall Street Journal reporter resigns after racy emails revealed 'affair' with Obama's Iraq ambassador nominee (but he's still hanging on to his job)."

I'm not sure if there'll be any White House fallout, but I don't think that, given the emails themselves, McGurk should be confirmed.